After Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry revealed two amazing stories about playing against Kobe Bryant on Hot Ones with Sean Evans, video of the two former MVPs facing off early in Curry’s career is going viral.
Respect from Bryant is one of the biggest possible badges of honor for players of Curry’s generation, and the now-legendary shooter did admit to being a bit starstruck by facing Bryant in the first few seasons of his career. But Bryant’s respect for Curry from early on was obvious: In the first game between the two, Curry made a tough midrange jumper after a pump-fake, and the broadcast feed immediately pans to Bryant on the bench mouthing “he’s nice” to a teammate.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer spliced together video of the moment with the interview:
